Bill Start

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 7, as introduced, Gomez.
Vin Scully Highway.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Route 110 in the County of Los Angeles as the Vin Scully Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the cost, to erect those signs.

Digest Key

Fiscal Committee:
YES

Bill Text

WHEREAS, Vincent Edward “Vin” Scully, born on November 29, 1927, is an American sportscaster, best known as the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League baseball team; and

WHEREAS, He has been with the team since its days in Brooklyn, New York. His 66 seasons with the Dodgers, 1950 to present, are the longest time any broadcaster has been with a single team in professional sports history, and he is second by one year to only Tommy Lasorda in terms of number of years with the Dodgers organization in any capacity; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scully calls most Dodgers home games and select road games. He is known for his dulcet voice, lyrically descriptive style, and signature introduction to Dodgers games: “It’s time for Dodgers baseball! Hi everybody, and a very pleasant good (day/evening) to you, wherever you may be;” and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scully’s remarkable ability to create such vividly accurate and colorful descriptions of the play of the game has become legendary. Others have likened his broadcast skills as being able to see it on the radio; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scully accompanied the Dodgers from Brooklyn to their new location in Los Angeles beginning with the 1958 baseball season, and quickly became popular in southern California. During the Dodgers’ first four seasons in Los Angeles, the fans had difficulty following the action in the very large Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and it soon became common for them to bring transistor radios to the games to hear Mr. Scully and partner Jerry Doggett describe the action. This practice continued even after the team moved to the much smaller Dodger Stadium for the 1962 baseball season. Radio and television engineers often had difficulty compensating for the sound of Mr. Scully’s play-by-play reverberating through the stands at Dodgers home games; and

WHEREAS, In 1964, the New York Yankees offered Mr. Scully the opportunity to succeed Mel Allen as their lead play-by-play announcer. Mr. Scully chose to remain with the Dodgers, and his popularity in Los Angeles had become such that in 1976 Dodgers fans voted him the “most memorable personality” in the history of the franchise; and

WHEREAS, The Dodgers announced on August 28, 2015, that Mr. Scully would be back for the 2016 baseball season, his 67th with the Dodgers. At the press conference on August 29th, Scully said 2016 would probably be his final year; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scully has established a bond with his listeners that is deep, with a strong sense of community, so that when he says on air to his listeners that “We’ve been friends long enough ... ” it is truly an accurate and heartfelt statement; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scully is and will continue to be long known as being legendary for his abilities to bring to Californians the history, color, and passion for baseball and for his caring for others. It is altogether fitting to officially name State Route 110 adjacent to Dodger Stadium as the Vin Scully Highway; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That, in light of Vin Scully’s remarkable and unprecedented career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and millions of fans of baseball, the Legislature hereby designates the portion of State Route 110, located between Interstate 5 and United States Highway 101 in the County of Los Angeles as the Vin Scully Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.